Silence....

Alex's entire world was silent; he remembered putting his hand on the door. His eyes took some time to adjust to their surroundings, for what seemed like weeks he could only see piercing white light, then as if immediately he felt grass beneath his now bare feet. He looked around confused. On the wind he could smell the smell of chrysanthemum, he knew the smell well enough from the many funerals he had been to of friends and fellow soldiers lost in conflict. The confusion was soon gone as another emotion fell over him; it was overwhelming, terrifying and peaceful at the same time. The only thing he could think of was absolute Divinity. Complete unthinkable awe, Alex’s mind fell blank. He could only look dumbly as he saw her appear before him. Not hazing into existence, but simply being there. It was as if she was always there and only now chose to allow him to see her.

Alex could not control himself and fell to his knees, body falling slack, tears once more welling to his eyes as he looked upon this creature. Fear and love overwhelming him, no words would come to his lips, no thoughts pulling forth in his mind. This woman who stood in front of him, She was beyond beautiful, her features constantly shifted but at the same time in his mind all he could see was an absolute overwhelming beauty that forced his silence, her raven black hair fell long and in braids that reached the ground beneath her feet. She was enormous, standing easily at 15 feet tall. He looked up on her and he felt her smile and a gentle coo coming from her. It was then that she spoke, though her lips didn't move Alex could feel her intentions and words.

"My dear, dear boy. You must have so many questions." She paused and snapped her fingers.

The snap seemed to shatter everything that Alex knew. The world fell away beneath him and they soon were in a space of pure blackness. Absolute nothingness surrounded them in all directions. Alex felt himself floating to where he was on his knees mere seconds before.

"I am The Morrigan, The phantom queen. It pains me that your kind doesn’t know of me any more. You know my works intimately Alex. I am the Goddess of war to some; I am the Goddess of Sovereignty, The Goddess of life, and the Goddess of Fate. I am the reason you know fear, I am what gives you Valor, and I give you courage and strength. You are tied to me, my boy, and oh have you tied that knot."

Again Alex could only look in absolute awe of this being. He had no words but as she spoke he felt the past traumas, the grief he felt dissipate, the hatred at himself slowly losing its grip on his soul.

"You have served me all too well, never knowing the purpose of the lives lost. Understand, for every life lost, another blossomed in the garden. You were not at fault and served as a willing warrior, I have spoken to you before though you may not remember. I told you to get that sigil on your back; I gave you, my favored warrior, to my Avatar on the mortal world. You are hers, as she is yours. You are both aspects of my power and you will see that it is used properly. Your fates, while important, are not yet set. I am the kingmaker, and I command that you protect that which is hers as it is yours now too. She will know where to go, and you will go with her. It is time to take hold of what you are given Alex Byrne. From here on you are to be my champion, as she is my Avatar. Do not lose who you are in your journeys and prove to my subjects that you are worthy of my decision."

She leaned down to the now diminutive figure of Alex and placed a single finger on his chest. His entire body burned hot and he felt as if he would simply turn to ash and billow away into the nothingness. Her hand withdrew as quickly as he felt the pain. The pain held and he felt as if his very soul was pierced, on his chest where her finger had touched was a small crow burned into his skin as if it branded directly over his heart. The pain soon left and he felt himself wholly at ease, his mind no longer racing, he looked up at this Goddess before him finally able to move once more. His hands came to his eyes and he wiped away the tears that held on them. He'd never known an inner peace like this before. He once more looked up to The Morrigan who was smiling at him.

The surroundings around them began to shift and change, bands of colors shifting through his vision as Alex looked to the space around them. Nothingness slowly being replaced once more by grass, and a sky at dusk. The Morrigan turned away from Alex and waved her hand as if in greeting as a tree sprouted from the grass below and grew tall and strong over the two of them. Soft winds once more carried the smell of Chrysanthemums with it as it passed over the peaceful field. The Morrigan walked to the tree and sat herself at its base looking out over the field. She sat in silence for what felt like ages, eventually turning to Alex and beckoning him over to her.

Alex found strength in his legs again and walked to her stopping himself a short distance away from her out of respect. The Morrigan patted the grass near to the trunk in invitation and he moved to follow her cues, finding himself sitting next to her. He felt almost like a child looking up at his mother. She leaned over him and smiled gently at him.

"Alex, the lands you find yourself in, was at one time, long ago part of the world you know." Her tone was gentle as if telling him a fairytale. "The world as you know it is far more vast than you could ever imagine. Those who thirsted for strength and power eventually found ways to seal these parts away to enforce their will on those beneath them. They claim dominion over those whom they have effectively blinded, and muted." She leaned back against the tree. "They are not the lords they believe themselves to be. They have poisoned the water from which the people drink and force them an addiction that they must feed. You will be an instrument to purify that water."

Alex looked at her listening intently finally finding his voice. "Why me though? What have I done to deserve your attention?"

The Morrigan looked at him with an amused look. "Because it is the task I have given you Alex. You are special in that your fate is not yet written, the same applies to Gilly, you both are my favored and you will do as I say." There wasn't a hint of command in her tone, she was simply stating fact. "Alex, there are those in both of our lands that seek to unravel the worlds, they seek to unbind the threads that make our lands whole. In both worlds you will see great adversity, you will deal with immense hardship and strife, more than you have ever experienced before." She placed a hand on his shoulder gently. "You will learn much through your pain and fear, and in this you will become ready for your next tasks that I have for you. Understand, as you are my favored warrior, and now a champion of my will, you will find a great many in both worlds that will oppose you. I am not absolute, and there are pretenders to my powers, they too have forces that would otherwise hinder you. Some blatantly, others from the shadows through secrecy. You will endure."

Alex frowned slightly and before being able to voice his confusion at the situation she raised a hand to him to silence him. "You have so much potential, and so many things about you that you do not yet realize. Your nature in itself is different from others. This is why I favor you. It is not often that I speak with a human, much less allow one to question me. I would urge you to think on that before questioning further Alex." Again her tone was gentle as if chiding a child who was asking too much. Alex leaned back against the tree that they sat under resigned that it was all he was going to get from her at this point. They sat in silence for a time, the field looking like a vast green ocean, waves of grass bending to the push of the wind. The rustle of the leaves in the tree they leaned against a soft lullaby being whispered to the surroundings. Alex thought for a time on all that he was told and finally turned to The Morrigan.

"Thank you." was all he could really muster, and it wasn't really good enough in his mind. He'd never felt a peace like he did since waking up in Gilly's home, and if this was the Goddess' doing, it was something he meant completely. He'd tried so long to get away from the doubts and fears of his past and now, here, he found that solace.

"Oh, little Alex. Don't thank me yet, your pains are sadly the beginning of it. You will be asked to fight for me. War is in fact at the proverbial gates to this world and you must ready yourself. There are creatures here far fouler than you could ever imagine and you will need to fight, and kill, to survive. There are even those in this idyllic little town that Gilly inhabits that would see to do her, and you, harm. You will learn your strength through the adversity presented to you. I want you to understand that I cannot silence your self doubt, but you must learn to silence it yourself. If it is any comfort to you, all that die I gather together and they are once more planted in the garden. Every death, every sacrifice, is harvested and returned to me and my ilk. Do not let the whispers of ghosts in your memories bother you, It is the whispers of the ghosts in front of you that you must be worried about now."

They once again fell into a silence, the world shifted again around them as a night far too quickly advanced upon them. Alex couldn’t help but find himself fascinated by the surroundings shifting so quickly around them. The Goddess turned to face him once more and smiled warmly to him. "All of the questions you have will be answered in time I assure you Alex. For now, I tire of this and you have work to be done. Gilly will no doubt ask you of our conversation. Tell her that I said to give them to you. She will know what I mean by this. Now, however, it is time you left this place. Listen for me in your dreams Alex; I will always be watching you." She held her warm smile and waved him off. It was as the motion of her hand started a bright light blanketed his vision. As his vision cleared he found himself on the landing of stairs with his hand on the door once more.

It was as if he'd never moved, Alex pulled his hand from the door looking at his fingertips. He closed his hand and started reaching for his chest pulling the neckline of his shirt to the side to see the branded crow over his heart. He swallowed hard muttering to himself. "It... It was real." He turned to look at Gilly who was standing behind him in the place she left him before with a pleasant smile across her lips and a soothing tone to her voice.

"Welcome back, little bird; it’s wonderful to see you among us once again. What did the two of you talk about?" The Morrigan called it right.

"She told me the nature of things, told me I was to be her Champion, and that you were her Avatar. I'm not sure what the difference is. She told me we, or I, I'm not sure which will be fighting a lot. And that she wanted you to 'give them to me'. I'll be blunt; I'm more confused than I was before I went in there... But I feel... free. As if a weight has been lifted, I don't know a better way to explain it."

Gilly's eyes lit up. "She’s amazing isn't she?" Gilly moved up to Alex and lifted his shirt, seeing the brand across his heart and smiled wide. "This is good, very good. Come on then... Champion, I’ll explain it to you on the way. We need to go to the cathedral undercroft to get what she wanted me to give you." She took his hand and pulled him down along the stairs. "You needn't worry about averting your eyes anymore, and speak freely, You have her blessing and the priestesses aren’t going to get uppity at your presence any longer."

He was pulled along rather roughly down the stairs and as the reached the bottom he was finally able to see the interior of the cathedral in its glory. Pillars of marble and inlayed with spirals of gold stood in the aisles supporting tall vaulted ceilings. Golden and silver sconces and chandeliers were positioned around the massive building pushing shadows away and at bay. A massive ornate stained glass mural sat above the altar bathing the interior in crimson, blue, and green lights. The mural was of a woman, with raven black hair and crows flocking around her. Her arms were outstretched with a crown in one hand and a sword in the other; around her were flowers on a field of grass. Alex stopped moving and could only look upon it in appreciation. He felt a soft tug at his hand from Gilly. "It pales in comparison to her, doesn't it?" She said to him in a silent voice.

All Alex could do was nod gently in response. It was then that he was a hooded figure moving to them, he turned his attention to the be-robed figure as she got closer. He felt Gilly's grip tighten on his hand and looked over at her, she seemed uncomfortable suddenly. "I suppose you are a priestess?" He asked to the figure as she neared them. No words came from the figure but he could sense that under all the shadows of the hood he was being appraised. Alex felt the pull of Gilly's grip and nodded lightly to the priestess following along with Gilly. They neared the stairs to the undercroft and started down them. When they were a fair distance down the stairs Gilly finally spoke again.

"They've taken vows to not speak unless in accusation. To hear their voice is to listen to death." She said gently, Alex could feel a slight shiver from the small woman’s hand as she spoke of them.

"I take it that you don't really get on well with them do you?" Alex looked at her as they walked.

"One doesn't generally get along with a Banshee little bird. They are harbingers of death; they cry and weep at those who are destined to die a bloody death." Gilly kept walking down the stairs until they eventually reached a section that opened up into a floor. "They are the direct word of Her. They serve as stewards to the cathedral. They don’t preach as you are familiar with as She doesn't want us to prostrate ourselves before her, merely to live life. The Cathedral serves as the home to those who get pulled into that terrible existence. Those who come to the Cathedral to worship do so of their own will, to confess something dire or to seek atonement for past deeds. All she asks is that we honor her with our deeds and she will love us all the same." They stopped at a door, Gilly reached out pushing the door open.